Nitrogen-containing compounds are among the pollutants that can cause
serious environmental hazards. One of these hazards is nutrients enrichment of rivers
that can result in eutrophication, decreased water quality, and potential health hazards
for humans and animals, when released in the environment. Nitrate removal methods
can be generally classified into physical, biological, and chemical reduction methods.
The most commonly used methods in this regard are biological denitrification, ion
exchange, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, chemical denitrification, adsorption,
electrocoagulation, nanotechnology, and redox reaction. The first four methods have
been used in the industry. Biological denitrification is an effective method because of
the conversion of nitrate into N2 gas and the absence of secondary pollutant production.
However, it is not widely used in the removal of nitrate from drinking water sources
and underground water due to microbial contamination and rather is mostly used for
wastewater treatment. The purpose of this study is to present a brief introduction on the
use of physiochemical methods for the removal of nitrate from water and wastewater.
Keywords: Adsorption, Electrodialysis, Electrochemical Reduction (ER), Ion
Exchange, Nitrate, Reverse Osmosis, Redox (Oxidation-Reduction) Reactions.
